is 4 wide reason for low attendance? (1 Viewer)

[FABMAN]

I posted this earlier in this thread as a response to why I quit attending after the four wide in Charlotte; "Alan, as best I recall the Vegas fall 2 wide was my last nat'l event. But I'm unsure what year that was. I didn't quit all at once but tapered off over a few years, perhaps 3 or 4. 4 wide just seemed to crystalize my dissatisfaction with drag racing as it exists today. I understand that it may need to be the way it is because of many influences and that's unfortunate because it's lost most of the things that made it attractive to me. I do occasionally watch the TV broadcast (mostly nitro) but don't get a lot of satisfaction from it. I never watch 4 wide and can't tell you who won last weekend. It's just not enjoyable to me but I understand it may be to others and that's ok with me. I still like cackle cars and until the reunions got so big I enjoyed them. I think they should split the race from the reunions and let us old guys have our reunion without the hassle."

I sure didn't mean to imply, demand or state that we should ever go back to the way it was although I think every person who participated favors that period they raced but most realize it can never remain the same. Many things in your lifetime will change and you'll no longer enjoy it with the same gusto that you once did. Enjoy it while you can and move on without constantly complaining about the changes. If asked, express your opinion and then shut the heck up. Shoot I'm so old I remember when some hated nitro, then funny cars or factory experimental or whatever they were called and then rear engined cars. I could go on but won't...you're welcome.

Your luost

I posted this earlier in this thread as a response to why I quit attending after the four wide in Charlotte; "Alan, as best I recall the Vegas fall 2 wide was my last nat'l event. But I'm unsure what year that was. I didn't quit all at once but tapered off over a few years, perhaps 3 or 4. 4 wide just seemed to crystalize my dissatisfaction with drag racing as it exists today. I understand that it may need to be the way it is because of many influences and that's unfortunate because it's lost most of the things that made it attractive to me. I do occasionally watch the TV broadcast (mostly nitro) but don't get a lot of satisfaction from it. I never watch 4 wide and can't tell you who won last weekend. It's just not enjoyable to me but I understand it may be to others and that's ok with me. I still like cackle cars and until the reunions got so big I enjoyed them. I think they should split the race from the reunions and let us old guys have our reunion without the hassle."

I sure didn't mean to imply, demand or state that we should ever go back to the way it was although I think every person who participated favors that period they raced but most realize it can never remain the same. Many things in your lifetime will change and you'll no longer enjoy it with the same gusto that you once did. Enjoy it while you can and move on without constantly complaining about the changes. If asked, express your opinion and then shut the heck up. Shoot I'm so old I remember when some hated nitro, then funny cars or factory experimental or whatever they were called and then rear engined cars. I could go on but won't...you're welcome.

Your lost. ,!!!!

 

[MHayes]

Your luost

Your lost. ,!!!!

I think John Waters did a great job of explaining why the current show, 2-wide or 4-wide, didn't do it for him anymore. He also said he's not the one to sit here and complain about it either, so not sure why you felt the need to take a jab at the guy. It's his opinion, and he's not trying to push it on anyone.

 

[R.I.P. O.C.I.R.]

with attendance and car counts dropping over the years like they have who expects NHRA to publish that? 14 T/F cars at the winternationals!!! the empty grandstands at seattle on sunday?? who thinks NHRA will publish that information?? was 14 TOP FUEL CARS the headline of national dragster following pomona!! lol.

 

[RM FAN]

with attendance and car counts dropping over the years like they have who expects NHRA to publish that? 14 T/F cars at the winternationals!!! the empty grandstands at seattle on sunday?? who thinks NHRA will publish that information?? was 14 TOP FUEL CARS the headline of national dragster following pomona!! lol.

You have numbers that show attendance dropping over the last few years? Not sure what you are talking about empty grandstands at Seattle on Sunday unless you have crystal ball. Who in there right mind would publish a headline about car counts and not who won at a national event?

 

[TSK]

Who in there right mind would publish a headline about car counts and not who won at a national event?

Only nattering naybobs of negativism.

 

[none]

with attendance and car counts dropping over the years like they have who expects NHRA to publish that? 14 T/F cars at the winternationals!!! the empty grandstands at seattle on sunday?? who thinks NHRA will publish that information?? was 14 TOP FUEL CARS the headline of national dragster following pomona!! lol.

Yes, we had 14 TF cars in Pomona, how many in Phoenix? Or Gainesville? Or Houston? California DOT keeps a few of them away. I remember in the late 70's early 80's when there was talk of just one Nitro class because there weren't enough Funny Cars to fill a field. Ring a bell? We got through that.

And you keep saying that the crowds are small, when they are not. Not every event is a sell out, but some are. NHRA has VERY strong crowds, and we're not removing grandstands to make it look that way. If the weather is good, the fans come out to see what we've got. There are many more grandstands now than there used to be, so what used to be standing room only isn't now. That doesn't make the crowd smaller, that makes the venue bigger. If I sell 20,000 tickets and have 15,000 seats, the place is packed! If I double the seats and sell 25,000 tickets I have 5,000 empty seats, but I still have a bigger crowd.

You talk about how Doner's events in Seattle used to back up traffic for miles and shut down the highway. You do realize that was a two lane country road right? There is now an expressway right in front of the track. This isn't 1980, times change, I'm glad you have fond memories of when you were involved, but the racing is better today, the competition is better today, the safety is better today, and the sport is doing fine. It's not perfect, but as I said before, the sky isn't falling either.

Alan

 

[wireguy]

I think the thing that irks me the most is short fields. When this occurs and the number one or two qualifiers get solo runs.It reminds me of Nascars old boys club provisional rule where to field is set and the weekly runners basically get in. NHRA should pay the 17 and 18 spots more to attract more competition. Qualifying is hardly necessary when there are only 16 entries. Look at ProMod as an example every round of qualifying is exciting when there are 30 cars vying for the 16 car field especially in Q4 Saturday night!

 

[Muddy]

Jessie Robinson I think you meant to express it as my loss not as if I'm lost but I guess could be lost and wrong LOL

 

[R.I.P. O.C.I.R.]

alan- with all due respect, do a bit of homework on the sunday crowd at seattle. nothing like saturdays turnout. and why go sunday when seattle shuts down at 3:30pm? as for the improved hwy?? if it were not for SO MANY cops out there, doner could shut down that hwy!! the end grandstand at pomona was closed many,many years. like 20 plus?? and my remark concerning removal of grandstands IS happening in NASCAR. as for the casual fan, why spend the money thats is shut down on 3:30 on sunday????? that is a question i would like a answer to. honestly. it stays light out till 10pm up here at that time of year. ty alan. -dave

 

[Cliff]

Alan said one thing that really stands out to me. Cars are safer. You never see a dragster or F/C explode the blower & pieces go everywhere, including the grand stands. Or see an engine explode and an hour (min) clean up cuz all the safety crews have is grease sweep & a broom - and too bad so sad for whoever gets that lane. The tracks are soooo much better now. Glue & dragging the track & you see good runs even under poor conditions. I wish there were more T/F & F/C but $$$$$$$. Yes I miss the Old Daze & have memories that are special to me, but I still get just as excited about going to the drags as I did when I was a kid. What would really tick me off is if some anti car, anti racing groups could get racing outlawed. So gotta enjoy what we have now, cuz ya never kniow.

 

[DanTheFan]

Reading through all the worry in this thread, yes I’m concerned about fields and the sport too. But after 50+ years of attending races, I’m thankful for the nice facilities, saftety improvements, lack of cleanups etc. that make a good show. So while I don’t prefer 4 wide, the race was executed very well at a top facility. To satisfy my nostalgic urges, since most of the pro class cars all look alike these days, I love to watch pro mod, exhibitions by fuel altered, gas supercharged shows etc. I wish there was a way for some of the early pro mod bodies to be competitive. Really cool 57 Chevs, Willy’s, Desoto etc. so my wish list is to have more really good exhibitions that remind us of decades past. Great for the down time late in the day on race days.

 

[none]

alan- with all due respect, do a bit of homework on the sunday crowd at seattle. nothing like saturdays turnout. and why go sunday when seattle shuts down at 3:30pm? as for the improved hwy?? if it were not for SO MANY cops out there, doner could shut down that hwy!! the end grandstand at pomona was closed many,many years. like 20 plus?? and my remark concerning removal of grandstands IS happening in NASCAR. as for the casual fan, why spend the money thats is shut down on 3:30 on sunday????? that is a question i would like a answer to. honestly. it stays light out till 10pm up here at that time of year. ty alan. -dave

Dave,
You're right. Everything sucks, and NHRA will probably be out of business before the end of the month. I think I'll go try to get a job at the car wash and spend the next 20 years telling everyone how great it used to be.

I'm done here,
Alan

 

[NitroHunter]

Here's what my Seattle Sunday crowd homework has uncovered. It has nothing to do with car owners, us crew guys, Mater subscribers, or Daylight Savings Time. Why you will never get the attendance on Sundays seem fairly simple to understand - the working man. Friday Night qualifying is great, but short of the diehard fan, skipping a days work or getting off early just doesn't cut it for the average guy with a family. That's just the reality of making a living. Saturday is a good day to be out all day, have an adventure, stay out late. If you don't live in the area, there's travel to consider, and lord knows we've all sat in those traffic congestions both coming and going. Yes Seattle used to be terrible, but pales in comparison to the current backups across Hwy 37 going to Sears Point on those weekends. For Sunday, there's that pesky 'work' thing that looms early Monday morning with the alarm clock ringing at oh dark thirty, and I'd bet most folks like to wind down before hitting the sack. It is a pleasant surprise that attendance for final eliminations is as good as it is. Take a look around at any National event track when the finals are being run, the stands are thinning out by then, folks are ready to call it a day. And I somehow must have missed that Seattle National event that was shut down at 3:30, it would sure make it easier to catch my flight home for work Monday morning.

 

[wireguy]

Dave,
You're right. Everything sucks, and NHRA will probably be out of business before the end of the month. I think I'll go try to get a job at the car wash and spend the next 20 years telling everyone how great it used to be.

I'm done here,
Alan

Don't go away Alan you make a good argument. NHRA will always have its pros and cons as racing is entertainment and as a sport followers will always look back at history and compare their greatest experiences with the present. It can't repeat itself and things change. It's like movie sequels the next is never as good as the first. The current NHRA program is pretty good compared to when I started watching when Wide World of Sports broadcast the nationals a month later inbetween bobsledding and womens' volleyball. And in black and white. I really like NHRA.TV!

 

[Nick Name]

Heaven forbid if all the big sponsors went away in the nitro classes and guys did this out of pocket like before. No one would run as hard as they do now, but more people could afford to do it. Then again I remember over 100 TF at the March meet and hardly any corporate sponsors on any of them. Back befiore the big sponsorships, three or four guys could run a nitro car. Now, even if any of the younger people really love it, they know there is no chance they could ever do it.

 

[Muddy]

Back when 3 or 4 guys could do it I was one of those guys. We ran blocks and heads from the salvage yard and sometimes the cranks as well. We used up all the hemi parts we could find. If they took all the custom billet parts away nobody would have any parts for nitro. When Keith Black was selling nitro motors before the custom made blocks etc they were (if my memory is correct) 2300 from the bottom of the pan to the top of the injector and I think that included one set of spark plugs. Now you can't buy a blower for 10x that. It's no longer apples to apples. Perhaps you or I don't like it but it is what it is and we need to get over it or find another interest and quit being such big old bawl bags. There will always be some form of drag racing even if it's not 100 fuel dragsters trying to qualify for 64 slots.

 

[Porkchop]

alan- with all due respect, do a bit of homework on the sunday crowd at seattle. nothing like saturdays turnout. and why go sunday when seattle shuts down at 3:30pm? as for the improved hwy?? if it were not for SO MANY cops out there, doner could shut down that hwy!! the end grandstand at pomona was closed many,many years. like 20 plus?? and my remark concerning removal of grandstands IS happening in NASCAR. as for the casual fan, why spend the money thats is shut down on 3:30 on sunday????? that is a question i would like a answer to. honestly. it stays light out till 10pm up here at that time of year. ty alan. -dave

With all the bitching you do why dont you stop watching going doing anything that has to do with drag racing such it is such a horrible horrible thing. The real problem with the sport is idiots like you who always see the bad, not the good. I hope you do leave cause we dont need people like you around!!!

 

[Gone Dead Train]

With all the bitching you do why dont you stop watching going doing anything that has to do with drag racing such it is such a horrible horrible thing. The real problem with the sport is idiots like you who always see the bad, not the good. I hope you do leave cause we dont need people like you around!!!

Thank you Jerry. Reading this post the last 3 or 4 days. If i posted what i wanted to say, i would be kick off in a heart beat. Dave what happened, your mom drop you on your head?

 

[Nick Name]

Back when 3 or 4 guys could do it I was one of those guys. We ran blocks and heads from the salvage yard and sometimes the cranks as well. We used up all the hemi parts we could find. If they took all the custom billet parts away nobody would have any parts for nitro. When Keith Black was selling nitro motors before the custom made blocks etc they were (if my memory is correct) 2300 from the bottom of the pan to the top of the injector and I think that included one set of spark plugs. Now you can't buy a blower for 10x that. It's no longer apples to apples. Perhaps you or I don't like it but it is what it is and we need to get over it or find another interest and quit being such big old bawl bags. There will always be some form of drag racing even if it's not 100 fuel dragsters trying to qualify for 64 slots.

I have been in the 2 wheel side of the sport for 40+ years now. Kind of like it used to be. TF motorcycles do not yet have big corporate sponsorship, and 3 or 4 guys can still field a competitive one.

 

[Jeff]

You guys who don't like Dave and bitch about what he says crack me up. Now,don't get me wrong, I think he can be a real pain in the ass too. Just ignore him, don't respond to what he says, and please stop quoting what he says so the people who ignore him dont have to see it... his fragile ego won't be able to handle it and he might go away or stop posting.
He seems to love to stir things up, then sits back and watch the carnage. Don't give him what he wants.

End of rant, stepping down off the soapbox...